Wichita State Shockers vs UAB Blazers Prediction, 2/28/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Wichita State Shockers vs UAB Blazers

Date: Wednesday, February 28, 2024

Location: Bartow Arena in Birmingham, AL

TV: ESPN+

The Wichita State Shockers (11-17) are hitting the road to Bartow Arena on Wednesday where they will take on the UAB Blazers (18-9).

The Wichita State Shockers played Temple and ended up losing by a score of 72-66 in their last contest. When it comes to personal fouls, the Shockers walked away with 20 and Temple totaled 15 personal fouls. They also converted 4 of their 17 tries from beyond the arc. Temple finished shooting 71.0% when shooting free throws by converting 22 of their 31 shots. In addition, Temple collected 45 boards (17 offensive, 28 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Temple earned 5 dimes and had 7 steals for the game. With regard to defending, Wichita State let their opponent shoot 31.9% from the floor on 23 out of 72 shooting. They also doled out 13 dimes in this game in addition to forcing the opposition into 7 turnovers and getting 5 steals. In relation to rebounding, they earned a total of 43 with 13 of them being of the offensive sort. From the charity stripe, the Shockers converted 12 of 21 shots for a rate of 57.1%. Wichita State ended having earned a 38.5% FG percentage (25 of 65) and converted 4 out of their 13 shots from downtown.

Xavier Bell is a guy who was a major contributor in this game. He accounted for 17 points on 6 of 10 shooting. He was on the court for 38 minutes and also totaled 3 rebounds. He ended up shooting 60.0% from the field and distributed 1 assist.

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Wichita State enters this matchup with a win-loss record of 11-17 so far this year. They are turning it over 12.5 times per contest and as a basketball team they are committing 15.3 fouls every game. As a team, Wichita State is pulling in 39.5 rebounds per game and has 320 assists for the season, which has them ranked 305th in Division 1 in terms of passing. The Shockers are shooting 31.0% on shots from downtown (166 of 535) and 69.2% from the charity stripe. They average 72.1 pts per contest (232nd in the country) while going 44.4% from the floor.

On the defensive end of the court, the Shockers have forced 10.5 turnovers per game while drawing 15.0 fouls. They are currently ranked 240th in the nation in allowing assists to the opposition with 375 conceded this season. The Shockers defense is giving up a field goal percentage of 41.7% (740 of 1,773) and they surrender 36.2 boards per contest as a group. They concede 32.2% on three-point shots while they are 217th in the country in points per game allowed (73.2).

The last time they took the court, the UAB Blazers went home victorious with a score of 78-67 when they faced Tulane. The Blazers were able to collect 29 defensive rebounds and 9 offensive boards totaling 38 in this contest. They coughed it up 13 times, while getting 7 steals in the matchup. Tulane was called for 14 fouls in this game which got the Blazers to the charity stripe for 18 attempts. They were able to convert 13 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 72.2%. When it comes to shooting from beyond the arc, UAB buried 5 of their 18 attempts (27.8%). When all was said and done, the Blazers finished the game shooting 30 for 56 from the floor which had them sitting at 53.6%. The Blazers permitted Tulane to knock down 24 out of 57 tries from the field which had them shooting 42.1% in this contest. They finished 40.0% from distance by connecting on 8 out of 20 and finished the contest at 11 of 19 from the free throw line (57.9%). When talking about rebounding, UAB allowed Tulane to collect 19 overall (4 on the offensive side).

Yaxel Lendeborg ended up being a factor for the Blazers for this contest. He recorded 26 points in his 35 mins on the hardwood and earned 3 dimes for the game. He buried 10 out of 13 in this matchup for a rate of 76.9%, and had 12 rebounds.

UAB has a mark of 18-9 on the season. The Blazers commit 15.6 personal fouls every game and they go 75.4% from the free throw line. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 13.1 times per contest (187th in college basketball) and they are turning it over 11.9 times per contest. UAB has accounted for 2,069 pts so far this season (76.6 per game) and they average 38.4 rebounds per game. As an offense, the Blazers are connecting on 44.3% from the floor, which has them ranked 205th in college basketball.

The UAB defense allows 34.4% from downtown (206 of 599) and their opponents are connecting on 72.0% of their free throw shots. They have allowed 13.1 dimes and 34.5 total boards per game, which is 206th and 168th in those categories. The Blazers are ranked 271st in college basketball in PPG allowed with 75.0. They are forcing 11.5 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 44.6% from the floor (240th in the country).

Who will win tonight's NCAA basketball game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Wichita State

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